Who We Are

McDonald Architects is a full-service design firm offering remodeling, rehabilitation, and new construction services. We are committed to providing clients with beautiful, thoughtful homes that reflect their needs and desires while maximizing the possibilities of their property.

Chad D. McDonald, AIA, leads the firm. A Charleston native, Mr. McDonald received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Clemson University, where he also attended Clemson’s Charles E. Daniels Center for Architecture and Urban Studies in Genoa, Italy. Before completing his undergraduate studies, Mr. McDonald also worked as Clerk of the Works during the first year of the restoration of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Auldbrass Plantation near Charleston, South Carolina. While at Auldbrass, Mr. McDonald worked with Architect Eric Wright, Frank Lloyd Wright’s grandson. Before establishing McDonald Architects, Mr. McDonald worked with some of the most prestigious architectural firms in the South Carolina Lowcountry where he designed and managed many custom Residential Projects.

As a LEED Accredited Professional, he is committed to balancing the latest in sustainable construction practices with the desires and means of his clients.

Our passion? Creating inviting

places in which you and your loved ones can gather.

Our Philosophy

There are three primary variables to the design process: the client, the site, and the architecture. We believe each of these is as important as the next and that, for a design to succeed, they need to be in harmony.

The Client:

Our primary goal is to fully realize your needs and aspirations.

The Site:

We find the site to be equally important — not only because it's where your new home will sit, but because great architecture celebrates its environment. Through our designs, we seek to weave your wants, wishes, and personality into the fabric of the land. Each site is different. Each client is different. Each home should be different.

The Architecture:

Every style of architecture embodies a set of relationships between the visual details, shape, and feel of the spaces and general massing or form of the building(s). Our goal is to understand, re-interpret, and employ these relationships by wrapping them around your needs, giving expression to your desires while highlighting the landscape where you have chosen to make a home. The architecture provides the framework we will utilize to seamlessly weave your home into the existing landscape.

Working together, we will balance your resources, fulfill your needs, and realize your aspirations. As we guide you through the design process, we will also assist you in prioritizing many areas of potential interest such as sustainability, durability, and resource conservation.

Together we will create a beautiful home that not only lives well but that is also in harmony with its environment.